None Shall Be Spared
by sto17
Summary: Twilight with a twist. Bella is the vampire, Edward is the Human. AU. Intrigue, seduction, murder, the Volturi...lots of fun stuff. Cannon pairings. A better, more edited version of this story is available on twilighted. check it out.
1. Chapter 1

None Shall be Spared

Edward POV

It was cold. Too cold, considering I was covered in a mass of blankets. I turned the light on and glanced towards the window. It was shut, as I expected, and I made a note to buy a few more blankets after school.

I had told my mom the morning after our first night in our new house that the heat was not working right in my room. It had been a little over a week now and she had called the electric company several times to no avail. Each time she called, they sent someone over to have a look, and every time they said it should be working fine.

_Yeah. Ok. Whatever you say._

I looked around my new room and groaned. I still had not finished unpacking. I knew it had to be done, but I had been too preoccupied with getting to know Forks, Port Angeles, and the small wood behind my new home.

It was very odd though, because whenever I ventured out into the woods, I felt like I was being watched. The hairs on the back of my neck would stick up several times. I do not really consider myself cowardly, but every time it happened I would turn back towards the house, picking up my pace as I moved through the woods. Once I could have sworn that I had seen a flash of long brown hair off in the distance, and another time I had seen a glimmer of light through the leaves as they fluttered in the light breeze, reflected off of a piece of glass.

But why would there be glass in the middle of the woods?

And supposedly there aren't usually bears in the woods this close to town, at this time of year.

And bears did not have _long _brown hair!

I peeled back the layers of blankets and went over to my closet, pulled on another sweater and an extra pair of sweat pants, then climbed back into bed, hoping that I would be able to get some more sleep. Tomorrow would be my first day at Forks High.

_Lovely._

My father got a new job in Port Angeles, and my mother decided she wanted to live in Forks, where the houses were larger but less expensive. I missed Chicago already, and we had only been here a little over a week, and I was appalled by the lack of activities that Forks offered the teenage population. It's November, middle of the semester, and my senior year, not exactly the best time to transfer schools.

I had practically begged my parents to wait until September of next year, when I would hopefully be starting at Dartmouth, but my father received an offer he could not refuse. Supervising a cancer research lab in Port Angeles was an opportunity he couldn't pass up, which I only realized after the embarrassing begging episode. I quickly acquiesced, and apologized for my short and quick childish outburst.

After mulling over the circumstances of our move, and facing my first day at a new school, I gave up trying to fall back to sleep. I got up and went over to my keyboard, since my piano had yet to be delivered.

_Stupid delivery men and their stupid insurance policies._

The delivery service we had used to move our belongings from Chicago to Forks did not cover items like baby grand pianos. And so we had to wait while a company specializing in the transfer of heavy music equipment shipped it. My dad nearly fainted when he saw the bill.

_Jerks._

I glanced at the clock before I flipped the switch on the keyboard. 5 am. I still had time to relax before I need to begin getting ready for school. Playing piano usually relaxes me, but I had been extremely restless since we had moved to Forks. Maybe it was the cold humidity, or the lack of fun things to do, or maybe it was just that I was dreading having to face a whole new school filled with people I would only get to know for nine or ten months.

Whatever the reason, I had a funny feeling about Forks.

Bella POV

I managed to shut his window a moment before he woke up, and leapt off of the tree next to it and sprinted nto the forest the next. I had been playing this silly stalking game for the past nine days.

_Stupid pixie!_

Two years ago my family and I had moved to the tiny town of Forks, Washington at Alice's insistence. She had _seen_ something that was very important, that we needed to be in Forks in a few years, and we all agreed, knowing not to doubt Alice.

Nine days ago the _damn pixie_ finally told us why we needed to move to Forks. Because of Edward.

Edward was apparently my soul mate. He also happened to be a human. Awesome.

Naturally I was curious, so I ran to the address Alice had given me that night and had a peek in the window.

I felt like the breath had been knocked out of me.

And it felt uncomfortable even though I did not need to breathe. I climbed through his window and sat on the ledge. Alice had warned me that his sent would be…potent… and I decided he would be safer if I stayed on the window sill. If I came further into the room, something bad would probably happen, and Rosalie would kill me.

Rosalie was Livid already. It would do no good to make it worse.

I sat and admired the chiseled line of his jaw, the smooth slope of his forehead, the crease in his brow as he dreamed….

Yes, I had to agree with Alice. This boy was my soul mate.

I felt it instantly, the need to protect this boy from any kind of future with me and it was more important than anything else. A future with me could only play out one way. I would not damn him to this life.

But then I kept coming back every night. I was disgusted with myself.

I have been a vampire for over 600 years. My human memories are dim, and I do not know my exact age. Carlisle has estimated that I was 17 or 18 when I was changed. I only remember waking up in Florence, not knowing why or how I came to be plagued with this existence. I had unclear memories about a woman's face, who I suspected must have been my mother, and flashes of a pair of red eyes staring at me from the darkness, quickly coming closer until they were upon me...

I lived with the Volturi for 400 years. Aro valued my talents considerably, and my robes were darker than Jane's, almost as dark as the three, which made Jane resent me immensely.

I did not adhere to their diet. Every time I tried I saw my mother's face instead of those of my potential victims.

Everyone thought my choice was ridiculous, but I did not care.

When I met Carlisle I was filled with joy. Finally there was another like me, and we left Volterra for America, The New World. Aro and Caius asked me to stay several times, but I could not stand it any longer, and I knew that leaving with Carlisle was the right choice.

It was difficult at first because people would assume that Carlisle was my husband or that we were somehow romantically involved. Neither of us had ever thought of the other like that, and we had a few laughs talking about the gossip that would make us have to travel to a new place after so short a time.

I was so happy when Carlisle found Esme. Esme reminded me of my mother and I finally felt like I had a family. She made things much easier because she could introduce herself as Mrs. Cullen. It wasn't long before we found Rosalie and Emmett. Soon after that Alice and Jasper found us. I stayed single through it all. It's not easy sharing a home with three perfectly matched couples. But I endured it. I love all of them. They are my family.

I arrived back at the house five minutes later to find them all waiting for me, sitting around Esme's beautiful, antique table, in the dining room. It was just for show, since we never ate in the house.

She was the first to speak, "Bella, I know you are apprehensive about this-"

I cut her off. "I will not kill him."

And I went to my room.

My family was extremely excited that I had found my mate. Ok. _Most_ of my family was excited. Rosalie, of course, had her reasons for objecting to this news, and she tried to keep it to herself, assuming that I would never attempt to get close to a human, but then I began visiting his windowsill every night.

There was a banging on the door and I immediately knew who it was. "Go away, Alice."

"No." she answered simply as she broke the handle on my door and stepped into my room.

"You better fix that." Esme called from downstairs.

Alice sat on the edge of my couch, as played with the lacy hem of her skirt. "I know you are upset," she began, "but you have to understand. There is nothing you can do to change this. His future is either death or becoming part of our family."

My eyes widened at her words, "I can't do it Alice. I can't take someone's soul."

"Enough with this soul crap." Alice snapped. "You are so stubborn. You have a soul. We all have souls. As long as you are on this earth thinking and caring and loving you are proving the existence of your soul."

"I have an outfit for you, by the way." She gestured towards my dresser and I groaned.

"Why do you do this to me? I don't want to wear designer clothes! I just want to be comfortable." I complained. I knew it was childish of me, but I figured that since Carlisle said I was a teenager when I was changed, I might as well act like one while I go through high school for the twenty second time, I did not want anyone to get suspicious, after all

"Don't worry. I learned my lesson last time. It's just Jeans and a sweater." Alice sighed.

"I know it saddens you, that I don't share your interest in fashion."

Alice cut me off, "Bella, I love you and don't give a rat's ass what you wear, especially now…." But she trailed off. I didn't push her. Anything that had her looking that sad wasn't anything that I wanted to know about, and I knew that if it was terribly important then she would have come right out and said it, instead of holding back.

"I'll see you downstairs," she said as she leaned over and kissed my check lightly, and then bounced out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

Alice POV

I danced down the stairs, twined my hand through Jasper's, and pulled him over to the couch with me.

"Why are you so frustrated? Is Bella giving you a hard time about her wardrobe again?" Jasper asked, his amber eyes twinkling.

"No. I decided not to pester her about that anymore." I replied quietly.

"Then what's botherin' you, darlin'?" he drawled, in that lazy southern drawl that he would never get rid of.

"Not now." I muttered, eyeing Emmett and Rosalie as they entered the room. He let it drop, knowing that I would tell him about it later. I realized I would have to distract him, try to make him forget. It made me feel guilty but I did not want to share these other visions with my family yet. It was bad enough that I had to deal with this devastating knowledge about the future; I did not want to put them through that as well, not until it was necessary anyway.

They would all find out eventually.

Bella POV

Emmett pulled his jeep into Forks High's parking lot and pulled into our usual spot. I climbed gracefully out of the backseat, and glanced around, looking for Edward. He wasn't there yet…

Alice gave me a knowing look before stalking off to class with Jasper. She had warned me on the way to school that I would have biology with Edward after lunch. She also said that I should be nice, and not ignore him like I was planning, because it would not change the future, it would simply prolong it, and she was impatient to be friends with Edward. She already thought of him as the little brother she never had.

"Fuck off," I hissed at her, to which she replied, "trust me."

_No thanks._

High school is the bane of my existence. At least that's how it feels when you already know everything that your teachers are going to say. I already hold countless PHDs and masters degrees, and I know that none of these teachers would ever have anything to say that could surprise me.

Thankfully lunch came quickly, and I joined my siblings at our usual table in the corner of the cafeteria by the windows. I had been sitting there in silence for a while, tearing a bagel to pieces, when Emmett quietly noted, "your human has been staring at you non-stop since you sat down." He was grinning broadly as he jerked his head towards the other side of the cafeteria.

Our eyes met for a moment before he quickly turned away.

It wasn't the first time I had seen Edward awake. In fact, I had followed him quite a bit during his exploration of Forks, Port Angeles, and the woods behind his house. Several times I had almost let him see me, but then thought the better of it. It would not have been good for him to have found me following him through the woods.

All those times he had been alone, his features serious, like he was constantly deep in thought.

Now he was smiling, having just laughed at some joke told by Mike Newton, his green eyes sparkling from the lights in the cafeteria. He was giving Edward the lowdown on the Cullen clan, the gossip about how my siblings were all dating each other, and how I refused to acknowledge the existence of the entire male population at Forks High.

_Mike Newton. What a jerk._

I muttered his name like a curse word, and my siblings began laughing, finding humor in my frustration. "Shut up." I shot at them as I grabbed my things and stormed off and out of the cafeteria, leaving them to deal with my tray. I spent the rest of the lunch hour in the biology lab, contemplating how I was going to stay away from Edward. I felt drawn to him. He was beautiful. His emerald green eyes, the perfect line of his jaw, his slight muscular build, the controlled messiness of his hair…his honey, lilac and sun cologne…….

Remembering his scent was enough to drown out those feelings, as the venom quickly pooled in my mouth. I pictured myself in a few different situations with Edward, all ending with me bent over his still form as I drained him dry.

_Get a grip Swan. You aren't an animal._

"Bella." Mr. Banner politely greeted me as he entered the classroom. "Hi Mr. Banner. Have a good lunch?" I always tried to be nice to the teachers, knowing that if I wanted to be able to tick Dartmouth off the list next, then I would need their letters of recommendation.

"Yes, I did." Mr. Banner sat at his desk and pulled out a newspaper while he waited for my classmates to arrive. I decided to read for a little while so I took out my copy of _Pride and Prejudice_, a first edition autographed by Ms. Austen herself, a Christmas present I had received from Carlisle.

My classmates began to file into class and I heard Mr. Banner stand and greet Edward at the door. Mike Newton sat at his table adjacent to mine and when I glanced in his direction he gave me a wink and a wide smile. I grimaced, and turned back to my book.

Mr. Banner pointed Edward towards my table, with the only vacant seat in the class, and immediately began the lecture. I noticed Edward's heart rate pick up as hurried to his seat next to me and I had to swallow back a mouthful of venom at the luscious sound of his blood pumping through his veins. He looked over at me several times, and he smiled when he caught me glancing back at him.

After an hour of us exchanging quick glances and small smiles the bell rang. I put my stuff away at a slow human pace, while I waited for him to try to talk to me.

"Hi. I'm Edward Masen." He politely introduced himself, holding out his hand for me to shake.

I avoided his eyes as I said "I'm Bella Cullen." I ignored his outstretched hand as I continued to put away my things. I knew that if I shook his hand then he would be repulsed by the cold, hardness of my skin. He slowly lowered his hand and said "I guess I will see you tomorrow Bella." And he turned and walked casually out of the classroom.

I let out the breath I had been holding in with a loud whoosh. I should have been nicer to him, like Alice had advised, but I couldn't help but feel a little resentment toward him. In all my years I had never tasted human blood. My record was just as clean as Carlisle's, and I was almost two centuries older than him. I was repulsed by the fact that this boy was making me doubt my control.

I headed into the hallway and met up with Emmett for Spanish. I wanted nothing more than to be able to skip and head home, but my family missed enough class due to the rare sunny days, and I didn't need school officials to start harassing Esme because her youngest kid cut class. Again.

Edward POV

I tried to regain my composure after laughing heartily at one of mike's jokes. He really was a funny guy. I attempted to resist looking back to the table with the five most beautiful people I had ever laid eyes on, but my efforts were in vain. I glanced back at the brunette and hoped that I would get to meet her. Our eyes met for a moment. She was by far the most beautiful out of the five, and I felt a tingle in my stomach every time she lifted her hands to continue pulverizing the bagel on her plate. Every move she made mesmerized me. I caught Angela looking at me curiously when I turned back to my lunch. She seemed to be contemplating something serious, but then she snapped out of it and placed her hand in Ben's.

"Who are they?" I asked Mike, trying my best to sound casual but failing miserably.

"Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids. They all moved down here from Alaska a few years ago." Mike explained.

"They kind of keep to themselves." Angela added kindly.

"They are all TOGETHER." Mike whispered, wagging his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" I asked, still trying to sound casual, while still failing miserably. I glanced over at their table again, trying not to stare, like I had before, at the beautiful brunette.

Angela gave me a small wink and elaborated for me, "the big one is Emmett Cullen and he is dating Rosalie Hale, the blonde girl. The blonde guy is Jasper Hale, he is Rosalie's twin brother, and he is Dating Alice Cullen, the tiny girl with the black hair." It seemed like she purposefully left out the one I specifically wanted to know about, and I suddenly understood her curious appraisal of me earlier and why she had winked at me.

Tyler also gave me a sly look, and rolled his eyes. I was apparently more transparent than cellophane.

"The other girl is Isabella. She doesn't date, so don't waste your time. She is probably harboring some same sex tendencies."Mike said, with a sour look on his face.

At that moment the brunette, Isabella, got up from her table and stormed out of the cafeteria. Her siblings looked totally unconcerned with their sister's departure, instead continuing to pick at the food on their plates, and I noticed then that none of them had actually eaten any of it.

I tuned out the rest of the chatter, thinking about Isabella. I had never seen anything like her. Her skin was pearly white, almost luminescent. Her dark mahogany hair hung down to about halfway between her shoulder and her waist in subtle waves that bounced lightly as she walked….

The ringing of the bell startled me out of my day dreaming of Isabella. I asked Angela if she knew where the biology room was, but mike cut her off, throwing a "follow me" over his shoulder as he exited the cafeteria. I gave Angela an apologetic look before I turned and followed him out.

When Mr. Banner pointed towards Isabella sitting next to the only available seat I felt my heart begin hammering in my chest. I silently thanked several different gods for the crazy good luck I had just received, and slipped into the stool next to her.

I looked over at her a few times throughout the class and smiled to myself whenever I caught her glancing back at me, wishing and praying that she found me the least bit attractive. Then I remembered Mike's statement about her not dating and I inwardly cringed.

When the bell rang I hurriedly gathered my things, hoping I would have enough time to at least introduce myself to her. When I was finished I saw that she was putting her stuff away rather slowly, and I took the chance.

"Hi. I'm Edward Masen." I quietly stated while holding out my hand for her to shake.

She looked uncomfortable as she avoided my eyes and ignored my hand, "I'm Bella Cullen."

_Bella_.

I was a little offended by her behavior but I tried not to show it, "Well I guess I will see you tomorrow Bella." And with that I exited the room as calmly as possible.

On the inside I was in agony. Why wouldn't she look at me? Or even shake my hand when I introduced myself? Bella Cullen was a bit strange, of that I was sure.

Gym wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We were playing badminton this month, and I happened to be very good at it, even though I had never played before. Mike Newton growled "beginner's luck" at me from the other side of the net and I couldn't control my laughter.

Bella's sister Alice kept throwing me nervous glances from the other side of the gym. I wasn't quite sure what it meant, so I did my best to ignore her. Maybe she was just as off as her sister…..

Once gym was over I was extremely relieved. I left the building with a new bounce in my step, thinking about the likelihood of my piano being there when I got home. If it wasn't….well I didn't want to think about that possibility.

My piano wasn't delivered until a week later. The delivery company said that they had to clear some things with their insurance company claiming that they didn't usually deal with Steinways, and that was why it took so long.

_Assholes._

It was now the middle of December. Every day was a repeat of the first. I went through my classes until lunch. I stared at Bella during lunch. Bella and I exchanged glances and smiles during biology. Alice shot me nervous looks during gym. Then I went home. Every day was the same routine. Something needed to happen. The monotony was getting to me and I felt like I might go insane.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

Bella POV

The days blurred together, and as a vampire I was used to it. Before I knew it the middle of December was upon us and Edward and I would have a project to do together over the holiday break.

I had tried so hard to stay away from him, and even though I had had stopped following him outside of school and refrained from watching him while he slept, in school I watched the boy like a hawk.

I watched him hold doors open for people, loan his notes to people who missed class, lend lunch money to people that had forgotten theirs, converse with the lunch lady and make her feel appreciated, be polite to people that had been unkind to him, the list went on.

The boy is a saint.

I knew how I was starting to feel about him. I knew because every day I looked forward to lunch and biology. I knew because whenever Emmett or Jasper would make fun of me for it, I could not deny their suspicions.

The boy is gorgeous. Quite possibly the most attractive human I have ever met. I would sit at lunch and in biology and just admire his good looks. The emerald hue of his eyes, the chiseled line of his jaw, the smooth slope of his forehead, the deep furrow in his brow when he was concentrating, the beautiful blush in his cheeks when he caught me staring, his slight muscular build… he was god like in his perfection. He was my own personal Adonis to gawk at.

I wasn't used to having these feelings about men. I had lived as a vampire for 600 years and had not once had a physical relationship. I just did not care. While I was with the Volturi, many male and female vampires had expressed interest, Demitri was relentless in his attempts at seduction, but I just did not have it in me to give myself to someone that I did not love. Though I did not remember my human life, I had a feeling that because of my age, and my lack of a wedding ring, I was a virgin. Perhaps I was still saving myself for true love…

I knew how he felt about me too. He watched me whenever he thought I wasn't looking. He blushed furiously whenever Angela or Tyler hinted that they thought that he liked me, and he even defended me to Mike Newton whenever the jerk would make snide comments about me.

But he was too good for me.

Alice warned me the day before the project would be assigned. It seemed that there was nothing I could do to keep away from Edward. I knew that if I was forced to spend time alone with him, than our attraction to each other would be even more pronounced, and his life would be forfeit.

Alice had kept pestering me about the fact that I wasn't changing his future, only prolonging the inevitable, by trying to stay away. But I couldn't do it.

He didn't deserve this.

Edward POV

_YES!_

Bella and I were being assigned a project together.

I had been trying to come up with various ways of asking her out for the past few weeks, but every time I came close, I panicked, like the chicken that I was. Now I would have a valid reason to spend time alone with Bella. I would finally be able to get to know her. Maybe find out what it was that made Bella and her family so different from everyone else.

Over the past few weeks I had noticed certain things about them. Though they always purchased lunch, they never ate any of it. I had classes with some of her siblings and I noticed that they always knew the answers to questions, even if they seemed like they weren't paying attention. They were all extremely beautiful and pale, and they all had the same color eyes, gold, with dark purple bruises underneath, like they never slept.

The bell rang and I began gathering my things. Now was as good a time as any to ask her about when we could start working on the project.

"So, Bella, when would you like to get together to work on this?" I asked her, trying to keep the excitement out of my voice.

"Is your house after school ok?" she asked quietly, smiling to herself, while avoiding my eyes. This was good, as I would be able to question her about her strange family today. I couldn't wait.

"Sure. Will you need me to give you a ride home later?" I was hoping she would say yes so I could see where she lived too.  
"No, my sister Alice can pick me up." She replied, a little louder.

_Oh well, you can't have everything._

"Ok, meet me at my car at 2:30. I have gym so I need to get changed afterwards." I said. My hand grazed the back of her hand as I grabbed my notebook from the table. Her hand was ice cold, and her skin was hard as a rock. But that was not what shocked me about the slight touch, it was the feeling of electricity shooting up my arm and radiating outward through the rest of my body in the moment that I touched her, and it being gone in the next, that made me jump a step backward. I didn't know what the electric shock meant, but now I could add hard, ice cold skin to that list of peculiarities about her.

"Ok. See you later, Edward." She smiled, and then bolted from the room.

"See you."I said as I got up from our table, even though she probably couldn't hear me anymore.

Alice POV

"No, my sister Alice can pick me up." I heard Bella say to Edward.

I looked into the future and saw that I would pick Bella up at exactly 6:02pm. Edward's mother would arrive home at about 5:52, and Bella would only be able to stand the woman's inappropriate suggestions for 15 minutes before Bella would make an inappropriate retort. It would probably be best for me to get there a little earlier, just in case my vision's timing is a little off. I also knew that he was going to question her about us today, but I decided to let Bella find that out on her own.

I grabbed my stuff and headed towards the locker room to get changed for gym. I pondered over my visions the past couple of weeks as I got changed into my required, and hated, t-shirt and gym shorts. Bella was being very clever, prolonging the time when I would finally be able to be friends with Edward. I couldn't wait until he would be a part of our family. I could not see what his gift would be, but I could see myself saying "Wow, that's quite a talent you got there Eddie!" so I knew it was going to be good. I smiled to myself as I walked into the gym and sat on the bleachers, imagining what kinds of gifts he might have, and straining to get another clue from my visions, but nothing came.

Bella POV

I stood out in the parking lot, waiting by Edward's car. Alice bounced towards me and exclaimed, "I'll pick you up at exactly 6:02pm." I tried to suppress a laugh at her exuberance, but failed. Emmett gave me a wink while Rosalie's back was turned, and Jasper sent me a wave of calmness and an encouraging smile. Then they all piled into the jeep and left, and I could hear their laughter at my expense continue for a few minutes as Emmett sped towards the house.

At precisely 2:30 Edward walked out of the gym building, and his eyes met mine.

He walked towards me with a swagger in his step that hadn't been there before. "Hey Bella," he called to me over the sounds of the other student's cars turning on and pulling out of the lot.

"Hi Edward," I greeted him quietly.

He unlocked the doors to his shiny silver Volvo, and I ached to drive my 53' cherry red Chevy that Rosalie had restored for me. We always took Emmett's jeep because it was the only vehicle we owned that we all fit in, and the wasting of finite resources is everyone's business.

I climbed in to the passenger seat and Edward pulled off the moment my door shut.

"What are you?" He asked harshly, as he pulled out of the lot.

"Huh?" I was too dumbfounded by his question and tone to come up with anything better.

"You and your family are never in school on sunny days, your skin is ice cold, you never eat or drink anything……."

He was very observant.

"What do you think I am?" I had let out the question 1/16th of a second before I saw the truck, and heard its driver snoring. I saw the truck's trajectory and before it could smash headfirst into the driver side of Edward's car, I tore Edward from his seat, ripping his seatbelt and probably giving him a nasty case of whiplash. I then pushed my door open, careful not to damage the thing, and jumped out with Edward cradled in my arms. As I pulled him out I heard his head connect with the door and I cringed, hoping he wouldn't have a concussion.

I laid Edward down on the pavement and checked his vitals and he seemed to be ok. There was a bruise forming on his forehead from its collision with the door, but thankfully there was no blood.

"Now I can definitively add fast and strong to the list," Edward murmured groggily, as he reached up and gingerly felt the bruise on his forehead.

"Sshhh." I soothed as he tried to sit up. We were at the intersection of his street and the main road, and so I walked him to his house and let him in with the key under the eave.

"How did…" He began, but then he smiled and shook his head a little before he went over to the couch to lie down. I went into the kitchen and grabbed him an ice pack.

I gave it to him and said, "be right back." I then left his house and walked back to the scene of the accident to talk to the cop.

The Truck driver wasn't hurt, and he kept apologizing to me and asking if Edward was ok.

I told him Edward was fine.

"Do you want to go to the hospital?" the police officer asked me.

"No I'm fine. And I think Edward is just a little shocked," I said. "But not hurt," I added when it looked like he was going to object. The Truck driver ran back over to his truck to get something, and the police officer turned to me.

"Well, you can tell Edward that the mechanic will be giving him a call to let him know when the work will be nearly done on his car. His vehicle isn't totaled, it just needs a new door and front and back side panels. The truck drivers insurance will be taking care of the bill, so he doesn't need to worry about that."

"Thanks for your help, officer…"I glanced at his badge and saw a list of numbers instead of a name.

"Swan, Chief Swan. But you can call me Charlie. You're one of Dr. Cullen's kids, right?"

"Yes sir. It was nice meeting you." I walked away quickly and headed back towards Edward's house.

Swan? Charlie Swan? Surely there were many Swans in the world, and he was not necessarily related to me. One of the only things I could remember from my human life, aside from my mother's face and the eyes of the one that changed me, was my full name. Isabella Marie Swan.

I guess it couldn't hurt to look up Charlie Swan's relatives and ancestors, just out of curiosity.

I let myself back into Edward's house and found him still lying on the couch.

"Do you want to try working on this tomorrow instead?" I asked quietly, trying not to startle him.

"Sure. That's probably best." He replied with his eyes still closed, while he held the icepack to his forehead.

"Ok. I'll just call my sister and have her pick me up now…." I started to pull my cell phone out of my pocket when he shot up on the couch, his eyes wide.

"No. Stay. I have some questions for you."

_Damn pixie! Surely she should have seen this._

I wondered for a moment why she had not warned me about this, but then I realized that maybe the truck driver falling asleep was not something that he had planned. She would, however, have seen Edward's decision to question me, and she did not warn me about it. She was going to be in trouble when she picked me up.

"Ok." I answered cautiously. "What do you want to know?"

"Well first I want to say thank you. You saved my life. I don't know how you did it though….."

I sat down next to him on the couch as I explained, "I heard the snoring of the driver as his truck approached. I saw where it would hit your car based on your speed and the truck's speed. At that moment I pulled you from your seat into mine, and pushed my door open to get us out of the car. I'm sorry about your head…" I trailed off.

"It's ok. I should have been crushed by the truck… wait. You said you heard him snoring?"

_Oops. _

I guess super senses were not something he had observed.

"Yes. I heard him snoring." I replied cautiously.

"What are you?" he repeated his question from just before the accident.

"I can't tell you."

"Can I guess?" He heard the hidden meaning in my statement. No, I could not tell him, but that did not mean that he could not guess. I nodded, and waited patiently while he put his thoughts together.

I watched as the blood drained from his face and his heart rate picked up. I made a mental note to tell my family that we had to step up our game a little in the "act like humans" department.

Instead of voicing his suspicions, however, Edward got up and walked into the kitchen. I followed him and sat in one of the stools at the counter. He began to offer me a glass of water that he had poured, but stopped mid sentence, and took a gulp from the glass instead, probably realizing that there was no point in offering me anything to drink.

"So…how old are you?" he asked, trying to keep his voice casual.

"17." I automatically answered his question.

"How long have you been 17?"And I wondered if I should have checked his bookshelves, to see if Bram Stoker or Anne Rice was there with his other books. Should I be honest? Yes, I decided that it was, after all, the best policy…

"A while."


	4. Chapter 4

Just a few authors' notes:

I'm not going to do too much character development because I think that SM already did a wonderful job of that. The ONLY difference between SM's Bella and Edward and MY Bella and Edward is that they are switched, as far as who is the human and who is the vampire. Bella was changed by an unknown vampire in Florence in the year 1409. She was 17, and like Alice, she does not have any memories about her human life, except that she remembers her mother's face, and the eyes of the vampire that changed her. I am going to go a little deeper into Bella's history as a vampire, mostly because of her involvement with the Volturi, but not too much, only when it is necessary to fill in parts of the story that are needed in order to make sense. Edward grew up in Chicago, much like SM's Edward, and he did not come down with a bad case of the flu, he simply moved to Forks!

However, as far as personalities are concerned, you can expect the same quirky, whiny Bella and the same brooding, cheesy Edward.

A slightly more cleaned up version of this story is on , the chapters validate more slowly there so I get additional editing time.

-stef

Chapter four

Edward POV

"A while." She answered, avoiding my eyes.

"So…when were you born?" I had a feeling that there were some questions she would not be able to answer, but this one seemed easy enough.

"I don't remember." She replied quietly. Her eyes were sparkling and it looked like she wanted to cry, but couldn't.

"You don't remember your birthday?" I asked, surprised.

"It was a very long time ago." She said, finally meeting my gaze. I saw the sadness in her eyes and decided it was time to change the subject.

"So you were adopted by Dr. Cullen and his wife?"

"Yes." Her one word answer frustrated me. I was hoping for a little more information.

"What about your brothers and sisters?" I probed.

"Them too." She seemed very reluctant to talk about her family.

"Ok. Can you explain why you all seem to know the answers to every question ever asked?"

"Well, this isn't my first time going through high school…" she trailed off.

It was at just that moment that my mother decided to walk in. I glanced at the microwave and saw that it was 5:52.

_Time flies when you're having fun…_

"Hey, sweetie. How was your day?" my mom asked as she kissed me on the cheek.

"Fine. Mom, this is Bella. She is my lab partner and we have a project together…" my mom immediately launched into a highly embarrassing rant about Bella and I spending time together without an adult present, and I could see that Bella looked extremely uncomfortable.

Suddenly Bella's head snapped up and she turned in the direction of the front hallway. "I think my sister is going to be here to pick me up soon." And she hopped off the stool and walked into the living room. She grabbed her bag and glanced at the piano, a smile turning up her lips.

"Do you play?" She asked gesturing with her hand towards the piano and seeming genuinely interested.

"I'll have to show you sometime." I answered, winking at her.

I looked through the window and gasped as a banana yellow Porsche, with tinted windows, pulled up in front of my house.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Bella said, walking towards my front door, and then she called a little louder, "bye Mrs. Masen, it was nice meeting you," before she walked out the door.

"See you tomorrow." I called out to her as she climbed into her sister's car. I went back into the kitchen and saw my mom sitting in the stool that Bella had been sitting in, peeling an orange. She was looking at me in an odd way, and then her eyes widened.

"What happened to your forehead?" she asked, pointing towards my head and then she gasped, "And where is your car?"

"Well…you see…I was in a car accident today. No one was hurt, except for me with this bruise on my forehead. The other driver's insurance is going to pay for the damage to the car so you shouldn't worry. It wasn't that serious." Suddenly my cell phone started ringing in my pocket. I pulled it out and looked at the screen, but I didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?" I answered, wondering who it could possibly be.

"Hey, Edward, It's Bella. I realized you might need a ride to and from school until your car is fixed."I wondered for a moment how she had gotten my number, but let it go realizing she probably knew a lot of things about me, like where we kept our spare house key.

"Yeah, you're right. I guess we can also work on the project too after school," I replied.

"I was also thinking that myself. I'll pick you up at 7:30,"she said.

"That sounds ok. I guess I'll see you then," I answered, trying to hide the excitement in my voice.

"Yeah, I'll see you," then she hung up.

I snapped my phone shut as my mom asked, "Who was that?"

"Bella…she offered to give me a ride to and from school until my car is fixed." My mom gave me a knowing look as she smiled, "Well, that's very nice of her."

"Yeah it is," I replied, "I'm going to go do my homework now," and I ran from the kitchen to escape the rest of my mom's questions.

At dinner I was grilled by my father about the accident. He said he had gotten a call at work from Chief Swan, and that he had almost had a heart attack before the Chief told him that no one was hurt. I was grounded for the rest of the week for not calling and telling him myself, which I was totally fine with, until I realized that Bella was going to be picking me up for school every day, and that we would need to be able to work on our project. Luckily, my mom has a good memory.

"Oh, dear," she said, clearly trying to butter up my dad a little, "Bella, Edward's Lab partner, is going to be picking up Edward for school every day until his car is fixed. I guess she figured it would be more convenient since they have to work on their project after school." she finished, winking at me while my dad shut his eyes for a moment, thinking.

"Well I guess that's ok. But you won't be doing anything else for the rest of this week. Is that understood?" He said as he opened his eyes, trying to look stern, but I knew that everything would be ok.

"Yes Sir." I replied, and I raised my hand in mock salute, in an attempt to lighten the mood a little. It worked. My dad let out a weak chuckle before he asked, "So are you going to honor us by playing that new composition you've been working on lately?"

"Sure." I answered, and before either of them could say anything else I went over to the piano in the living room, and began to play.

Later that evening I sat at my computer, looking up legends about vampires. I had never in my wildest dreams thought that creatures like vampires could be real, but I could not think of any other reason why she would be fast, strong, pale, have cold skin, and not remember when she was born... I had read Bram Stoker and Anne Rice, but I always acknowledged that they were novels, not to be taken seriously.

Now I had to rethink some of those assumptions. I shut off my computer and decided to go for a quick walk. I grabbed a flashlight, and my new hunting knife just in case. My dad picked it up for me in Port Angeles when I told him I had been exploring the woods behind our house.

I didn't venture out far, instead deciding to sit on a log just off the path.

I thought about the different legends that I had found on the internet. There was even a local legend the Quileute's had about what they called "The Cold Ones," but they all seemed pretty farfetched. And I thought about what they all said about a vampire's diet.

They all said that Vampires hunted humans and drank their blood.

If Bella wanted to drink my blood, then why did she save my life?

Why would she explain all that to me, and sit in my living room and kitchen and not attempted to take my life then?

_What in the world was going on?_

Then I thought about how I felt about her. I knew that I was starting to have feelings for her, feelings I had never felt about any other girl. She had become my reason for getting up in the morning, why I continued to sit at my piano day after day, composing music that had been inspired by her unearthly beauty.

Did it really matter that she was a vampire? Clearly she didn't want to kill me; she could have just let the truck crush me earlier today.

Did it really matter that she might want to drink my blood? I didn't think she wanted that either, she had ample opportunities this afternoon, while we were in my car, when we sat in my living room, and then in my kitchen too.

No, I decided, it doesn't matter what she is. I knew that I was hers the moment she pulled me out of the driver's seat of my car.

The next morning I woke up and realized that I was going to see Bella before school. She was going to pick me up! I immediately scrambled out of bed and ran towards the bathroom, grabbing some clean clothes from my dresser on the way.

I dressed quickly after I showered, and I looked over my appearance before heading down to breakfast.

When I got downstairs I found my father sitting at the table with his coffee and the newspaper. He glanced around it at me as I looked in the cabinet for some cereal. I prepared my breakfast and sat down next to him. I noticed him eyeing me for a few minutes as I ate and it wasn't long before I snapped.

"What is it?" I growled, then thought better of it and said, "Sorry. What's on your mind, dad?" I asked, being a bit more polite.

"I was thinking about your punishment. I realized that maybe there was a valid reason for you not calling me immediately."

"Yeah, like the fact that I had hit my head?"

"Yeah, anyway, I decided you are not grounded." He said, disappearing behind his paper.

"Really? I'm off the hook?"I asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes, you're off the hook," He replied gruffly.

"Thanks dad." I said as I got up to rinse out my bowl.

I ran up the stairs and into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Every couple of minutes I glanced out the window. Bella said she would be here at 7:30, and it was now 7:29. I ran back downstairs and grabbed my stuff. I looked out the window one more time and watched an old Chevy pickup pull up in front, with a smiling Bella sitting in the driver's seat. It was cherry red and it suited Bella perfectly.

"Bye," I yelled back into the house at my parents before I shut the door and headed down the steps.

I pulled the passenger door open and climbed in. I buckled my seatbelt and said a breathless "hi" before I looked at her close up.

She was stunning. Her hair was pulled back into a loose braid, with a few strands loose and framing her face. She wasn't wearing any makeup, but she did not need it because she naturally had beautiful, clear skin. She was wearing a form fitting navy blue sweater under her black wool pea coat, some artistically distressed jeans, and a pair of black chucks. The girl positively drove me wild.

"Hi," she said as she sped off in a way that I felt for sure her truck should not be able to handle, almost like it was a sports car.

"So did you sleep well last night?" I asked, trying to make polite conversation.

"Um…yes," she stammered, and it looked like she wanted to say more but she kept quiet.

I looked out the window as she drove, and wondered what I should say next when she repeated my question back at me.

"Yes I slept very well actually. I woke up in the middle of the night freezing, but other than that it was alright. It's actually kind of strange though…" I trailed off thinking.

"What's strange?" she asked politely, but her knuckles were turning white against the steering wheel.

"When I first moved here, the heat wasn't working in my room for about a week. Then it worked just fine for a few weeks, but last night it seemed like it stopped working again. I guess I'll have to talk to my mom about it when she gets home today." I explained. Bella had a smile on her face as she nodded.

Before I realized it, we were at the school. I was sad that I would have to part ways with her already.

"I guess I'll see you later then, and thanks for the ride," I said as I climbed out of her truck.

"Sure, don't mention it," she replied, and then she winked at me, and walked off towards Alice, who had just gracefully stepped out of Emmett's jeep.

I admired the sway of Bella's hips as she walked away from me.

_This girl is going to be the death of me._


	5. Chapter 5

A quick note:

FYI my posts on twilighted may take longer, but they are worth it. There will be subtle changes in the story that some of you may not even notice, but there are also some differences that you definitely will notice *wink wink*. Just a heads up-check out twilighted-my penname over there is stef_

* * *

Rosalie POV

My sister is in love.

Under normal circumstances this would be great news, something to celebrate. Unfortunately, we could not allow ourselves such a luxury.

I tried to warn her, that even though she had incredible self control, crossing paths with her singer was likely to end badly.

Naturally, she decided to sit in his window and watch him sleep.

She was doing it right now.  
_Idiot!_

Although I thoroughly disagreed with what was occurring, I knew that at this point arguing with Alice was stupid, a dead end. The damn pixie was a force of nature, bending fate to her will. Sometimes it seems like she simply _sees_ what she wants to _see_, and forces the rest of us to play along.

"Bella will be home in 15 minutes," Alice announced as she bounced down the stairs, Jasper trailing behind her, holding her hand as she twirled in circles. She then stood at the bottom of the stairs and leaned against the newel post, her eyes clouded. She was obviously having another vision. Her eyes cleared a moment later and she turned to me. "And you should be nice to her. I keep telling her there is really no point in fighting this. He is her mate. It's official. You all need to accept this as well." She said with a bright look to the rest of my family.

We all gathered around Esme's table in the dining room, waiting for Bella. I thought about how lonely Bella had been; 600 years without a companion had to be difficult, to say the least. She would never admit to it, but it was pretty clear how she felt, she had a horrible poker face.

"You could just tell all of us how he is going to be changed, and we could avoid all this nonsense, waiting for Bella to come home and surreptitiously checking her eyes. It is not fair to her. She is the oldest of us." Emmett blurted, letting out his frustration. Emmett is the youngest vampire in our family, and wants someone to call "little bro." He also feels an immense respect for Bella, knowing that she has been abstaining from human blood for the past 600 years. She really did have impeccable control, though I still thought it unwise for her to tempt herself, by visiting him in his room again. I wondered if she still sat in the windowsill or had she graduated to actually sitting _in_ his room. Maybe Edward might end up dying of Pneumonia instead of becoming one of us.

Bella chose that exact moment to walk in the back door. Her hair was windblown and she had a smile on her face. We all noticed at once that her eyes were still gold, and all the tension left the room instantly.

"It's ok guys. I wasn't tempted once. I've got it under control." She said, immediately heading for the stairs. "I was in his car yesterday, surrounded by his scent. Nothing happened then either." She added.

"Bella, we need to talk about this. You went back to his room. I was under the impression that you would not be doing that anymore. You are aware of how the Volturi will handle a situation like this. Caius might be terrified of you, but it won't change their punishment. You need to make a choice. Are you going to change him or leave him alone?" Carlisle calmly questioned. Bella stopped dead in her tracks.

"Don't worry Carlisle. I have seen it. Bella tried for a while to stop my vision from happening, but as I explained to her for the 489th time, earlier this afternoon, this vision is solid and unchanging. Edward's change is inevitable, and she may as well go with it." Alice chirped, smiling widely.

"I really wish you guys wouldn't talk about me when I'm not here." Bella stated calmly, as she sat down in the chair on Carlisle's left.

"Alice simply said that you had gone back to his house last night and that we should be ready to talk when you got back this morning." Esme assured her.

"I don't want to sentence him to this life, but I don't think I can leave him. I feel drawn to him, not his blood. It no longer tempts me." I noticed Alice wink at Bella, and Bella smiled slightly sheepishly.

"I have been trying to tell you, silly. You can't fight this."Alice said slowly, enunciating each word, as if we could not understand.

"Bella, you cannot take your time with this. You know what the Volturi will do if they learn of your relationship with a human. Edward will figure it out if you continue to spend time with him-"

Bella cut Carlisle off with a snarl, "You think I have not been trying to stay away from him?!? I have to do a project with the boy! A project, god damnit!"

"Exactly. I told you there was nothing you could do to stop this." Alice stated simply. She hopped up and said, "We need to get ready for school soon, and Bella," Alice turned towards Bella, giving her a wink, "I put an outfit on your bed for you," and then she headed towards the living room to sit on the couch. She grabbed a magazine and started flipping through it with lightning speed. Bella asked Jasper if they could speak privately in his study, then the two of them headed up the stairs.

I took my chance and grabbed Emmett's hand, dragging him towards the garage.

"Babe, what are you-" he started to ask, but I hissed at him and he closed his mouth, a dumbstruck look on his face as he followed behind me.

I pulled my husband into the garage and whispered quietly and quickly to him, "You need to learn how to keep your mouth shut. You know I don't like it either, for very different reasons of course, but we shouldn't pester Alice like that. You know that she has a lot on her shoulders, and we rely on her way too much already."

Emmett guffawed at me, clearly surprised by my relaxed demeanor, as well as my efforts to calm him.

"Bella has been alone for a long time. We shouldn't interfere with whatever Alice has planned." I reminded him.

"I know. I just can't wait to have a little brother…" he trailed off.

Alice POV

I pulled up in front of Edward's house, bracing myself for my sister's wrath. She climbed in, but did not say anything immediately. I pulled away from the curb and headed in the direction of our house.

"Why didn't you warn me?" she asked.

"I'm really sorry Bella. I did not see the accident until it was too late." I knew that wasn't what she meant but I had to draw this conversation out a little bit.

"You know that is not what I meant." She replied, seething.

"You need to accept this Bella. He knows something is up with us, and he isn't going to just stop trying to figure it out if you try ignoring him again. Don't waste your time. And in the future you should sit in his room with the window shut. Remember, he can get sick, Dr. Swan. "I laughed cheerfully.

Bella let out an exasperated sigh as I turned off the highway onto our unpaved driveway.

"Call Edward. You will be giving him rides to and from school until his car is fixed." I added as I took another hairpin turn at over 100mph.

_I fucking LOVE this car!_

Bella groaned as she pulled her phone from her pocket.

_There was an odd sort of frenzied tension that hung in the air in the clearing where my family stood. I recognized it as the one we often used to play baseball. This time we were there under very different circumstances. _

_A mass of vampires were heading toward us, all wearing cloaks in varying shades of grey and black that got darker towards the center where the three stood. Slowly those in the lighter cloaks fanned out, creating a butterfly effect that was almost pretty. The three in the center moved closer, slowly. Aro removed his hood, and looked at Carlisle, smiling sadly. Carlisle stepped forward and extended his hand in greeting…_

I still could not pinpoint the trigger for this vision, nor could I see anything beyond Carlisle's attempt to politely greet the Volturi. The vision was still pretty blurry, so I felt like there was at least six months until I should worry about it.

I had been keeping this vision from my family for the past two years. I was still trying to figure out what could possibly cause the entire Volturi guard to come after us. I had considered consulting with Eleazar about it many times, but I realized I could not do that without tipping off the rest of the family about my vision. I did not miss the fact that this vision first came to me the day my family moved to Forks, and I wondered how much it had to do with Edward becoming a vampire.

What concerned me most about this vision, however, was the fact that I could not see Edward in it. I wondered if that meant that I was off about the timing, and that it would happen sooner rather than later, while he was still human. I tried not to think about the possibility that they might be coming to punish Bella, for telling Edward our secret and not turning him or killing him. It did not seem reasonable for the entire guard to come for something like that, though maybe they might feel it necessary due to the size of our "coven." Then again, they also highly respected Bella, and the power of her gift, and probably brought the entire guard as a precaution, knowing that the danger for our family would keep her in check.

I felt a shiver creep up my spine that had nothing to do with the wind blowing through the open window in my bedroom. I stood up from my perch at the foot of the bed and did my best to put a bright smile on my face. I left the room and found Jasper waiting for me by the stairs. "Bella will be home in 15 minutes," I announced as I made my way down, pulling Jasper by the hand.

Bella POV

I left Edward's house, closing the window and jumping into the tree at the precise moment that he woke up, and bounced into the woods. I ran as fast as I could back home so that I could let my family check my eyes before I got ready for school. When Edward first came to Forks, it was our morning ritual when I arrived home, for them to wait for me in the dining room, and check my eyes to make sure that I had not drained Edward. It was ridiculous.

I assumed that this morning would be just like all of those mornings, and equally as uncomfortable.

While I ran I thought about what I had witnessed last night in Edward's room. He was having a dream. Several times he mentioned my name. I knew that it was a good dream because the smile never left his face throughout the whole night.

The first time it happened, my name had been accompanied by a soft moan, and I felt my resolve crumble. Alice was right. I couldn't do this anymore.

The boy knew that there was something wrong with me…and my family, and yet he still wanted to spend time with me, wanted to get to know me, had dreams about me…

Now it was just a matter of considering my options.

Option 1

I leave. Go hang out with Tanya and the girls for a few decades. I could wait until Edward is much older and has moved on with his life, and maybe I will be able to stand being around my family again. This option had its perks, such as not spending all my time surrounded by three sets of perfectly mated vampires.

This option, unfortunately, went out the window as soon as he said my name in his sleep for the first time. I am totally his. Through and through.

Option 2

I stay and change him. There was no way around changing him, if I wanted to have a relationship with him. He would figure out sooner or later why I don't look a day older than his first day at Forks High, or why my skin is ice cold, or why I am super fast and strong. He is pretty intelligent for a human. Maybe he has already figured it out and I am too late…

Option 3

What am I talking about? There is no option three. The Volturi will kill my whole family if they find out that I am dating a human, and that I have no intentions of changing him. Aro would know the truth as soon as he touched any member of my family's hands. It was enough that they were jealous of Carlisle for having amassed a coven with such talented vampires, but to also violate their most important law? We were hopeless if I carried on without at least planning to change him in the near future. Perhaps after high school, once he has matured more.

_I am a selfish asshole._

When I arrived home I quickly reassured my family that everything was fine. Alice tried yet again to convince me in front of the rest of the family, but her wink told me that she already saw what I had decided before I had arrived home.

Our discussion went fairly well, all things considered. It felt nice to be fully decided, even though my decision was incredibly selfish.

I approached Jasper when everything was finished, "Jasper, can we talk privately in your study?"

"Sure, sis." He replied and we headed up the stairs. Jaspers study was one of the rooms in the house that was sound-proofed.

He softly closed the door behind us and I sat in the big chair on the other side of his desk. He sat on the edge of his desk facing me.

Even though Jasper was much younger than me, he had seen quite a bit more of violence, because of his involvement in the feuds of the southern covens. And though I had been a member of the elite Volturi guard for a little over 400 years, most of our conflicts were unchallenged slaughters. So I knew how to fight, but I never needed to.

Jasper, however, had thousands of scars from his battles, scars that could only be left by venom. He was very intimidating.

_Understatement of the century!_

"So, what would you like to talk about darlin'?" He asked sweetly.

"Yesterday I met the chief of police in Forks. His name is Charlie Swan." I told him. He nodded knowingly, and stood. He walked around his desk and flipped open his laptop to turn it on.

"So you are curious to see if he is a descendant of your family? It won't be easy. Since he is the chief of police his information may be hard to find." He explained.

"If it was you, and you found someone named Whitlock, you would look them up, wouldn't you?" I asked. I knew he would. Jasper remembered his little brother very well, and regretted not being able to be a big brother to him after the war.

"Yes I would. Bella, I will look into it, but I cannot make any guarantees. It's going to be a lil' tricky. I will probably need to call J. I'll let you know if I find anything." He said as he sat down in front of his computer.

"Thank you so much, Jasper. I really appreciate this."

I went to my room and saw the outfit Alice had laid out for me. A sweater and a pair of jeans sat folded on the couch with my chucks sitting next to the couch with crisp white socks sticking out. She was definitely getting better at predicting what I myself would probably pick out. Or maybe she looked into the future and saw what I was going to pick, and just saved me the time by pulling them out herself.

I showered quickly and dressed in the outfit Alice picked out for me.

I thought, for a little while, about my conversation with Jasper. I hoped very much that he could find something about Chief Swan. I knew very little about my human life, but I always kept my mind open to the possibility that I might have had siblings, and that my family had moved on with their lives after my death.

After reading for a little while I glanced down at my watch, saw that it was 7:20, and headed down stairs. I grabbed my bag from off the couch and went out to the garage.

"Love you guys," Esme called from her study.

"Later Bells." Emmett boomed as he unlocked his jeep.

"Good Luck." Jasper quietly added as he entered the garage, Alice on his heels.

"See you at school." She chirped brightly.

Rosalie gave me an encouraging smile and a small wave as she climbed into the jeep's front passenger seat.

I really did love my family very much. It was nice to know that they all supported me. I had been alone for such a long time, before I met Carlisle. I never really considered the Volturi to be more than associates, and they treated me as such, even though Aro valued my talent above all others.

I climbed into my baby, caressing the steering wheel lovingly as I turned the key in the ignition. Rosalie had restored "Big Bertha" and had been keeping her in great condition since I had found her in a junkyard in 1983.

I pulled up in front of Edward's house at exactly 7:30 and watched as he hurled himself out the door, yelling a hurried farewell to his parents. He was absolutely adorable, with his jacket unzipped, though he was probably freezing, showing me the Led Zeppelin t-shirt and flannel button down he was wearing.

He climbed in, buckled his seatbelt and gave me a breathless "hi." His heart was pounding fast and loud as he looked me up and down.

"Hi," I said back to him as I pulled away from the curb, driving towards the school.

"Did you sleep well last night?" He asked and I barely stifled a chuckle.

"Um…yes," I replied. I did not want to continue lying to him and it was very difficult to resist telling him everything at that moment.

"And did you sleep well too?" I asked him, trying to continue the mild conversation.

"Yes I slept very well actually. I woke up in the middle of the night freezing, but other than that it was alright. It's actually kind of strange though…" he trailed off with a thoughtful expression.

I tried not to destroy the steering wheel as I asked "What's strange?"

"When I first moved here, the heat wasn't working in my room for about a week. Then it worked just fine for a few weeks, but last night it seemed like it stopped working again. I guess I'll have to talk to my mom about it when she gets home today." Edward replied.

I smiled a little, thinking about when Alice had warned me that if I sat in the open window, the way I did back in November, then Edward would definitely get sick. Last night I had hunted before I went to his house, and so I was able to sit in his room with the window shut. My new found strategy did not, however, prevent the huge gust of wind that swept into the room when I opened the window to make my entrance. He woke up and I quickly hid in his closet until he fell back asleep. I would have to be more careful about that in the future.

I pulled into Forks High's parking lot and parked a few rows down from my family.

"I guess I'll see you later then, and thanks for the ride," he said, as he climbed out of the truck.

"Sure, don't mention it," I answered as I turned to walk over to where my family was waiting for me. While I walked I could feel his stare boring into my back. As I got closer Jasper whispered, so that only vampires could hear, "he likes you, a lot. It's kind of sweet." Then he grimaced, kissed Alice on the cheek, and headed towards his first class. Alice came up next to me, grabbed my arm, and guided me towards the building.

I thought about what was happening to me. I was letting myself fall in love with him. My decision was made and there was no turning back.

As we walked I looked back at where Edward was standing, laughing with Angela Weber. They were discussing an English essay they had due before the break, and laughing at Newton's discomfort about the topic. He was clearly not confident in his ability to write the essay, though Tyler was trying to give him advice.

I turned back to Alice, who was whistling tunelessly. She winked at me.

_Stupid future-seeing pixie!_

"Shut up." I snapped at her, as I pried her hand off of my arm. She just smiled and skipped ahead, her tinkling laugh trailing behind her.

Edward POV

I went through my morning classes in a kind of daze. I couldn't wait until biology, when I would get to talk to Bella again. I was eager to flush out her secrets, and talk to her about my theory. I had been hoping to do that this morning, but the girl drives so fast that it took barely five minutes to get to school.

I glanced towards the Cullen's table as I entered the cafeteria with Angela. I saw that there were only four people sitting there, and I wondered if Bella left school early. I was starting to wonder if I was going to have to walk home as I looked at today's lunch selection, when Angela interrupted my thoughts.

"Bella Cullen is staring at you." Angela whispered covertly, while leaning past me to grab an orange.

"Where?" I said quickly, looking back at the Cullen's table and still seeing only four people.

"She is over there, lover boy," she said, winking at me and pointing towards a table near the emergency exit. And of course, there sat Bella. She waved at me when she caught my eye, and gestured to the empty seat across from her.

My heart started pounding in my chest and I could feel my cheeks burning. I tried very hard to calm myself by thinking about the food in front of me, but it did not work.

I quickly grabbed an apple and a bottle of lemonade, paid for my small lunch, and headed towards Bella. She was smiling widely as she watched me walk over to her table, though she did not let her teeth show. I wondered if that was intentional.

"Hi," she greeted me as I put my stuff on the table.

"Hello," I replied as I sat down across from her. I opened my lemonade and took a sip. Bella eyed the bottle warily.

"Not hungry today?" I asked her, trying to bring up the conversation in a friendly way.

"No, not today." She answered. Clearly she was not going to give me any information easily.

She reached across the table and grabbed the cap to my lemonade. She twirled it in her fingers, while she watched me take a bite out of my apple. I was stalling.

"Or any other day for that matter," she said suddenly and I looked up at her, surprised. "But you already knew that, didn't you?" she asked. I nodded my head slowly. She didn't miss anything.

"You're very observant. Were there any other suspicions you wanted me to confirm for you?" She knew exactly what I was doing. She saw right through me.

I contemplated that for a moment. Was she serious? Would she really be that honest with me? She had already confirmed that she was much older than your average high school student, her super hearing and speed, and the fact that she never ate. Would she confirm my other suspicions as well? I decided to take a chance.

"Yesterday you mentioned that you have been 17 for a while and that this isn't the first time you've gone to high school. Care to elaborate?" I asked as calmly as possible. She didn't look up immediately, and she seemed to be contemplating what she was going to say.

She looked up and eyed me warily as she answered, "that is a story for another time, perhaps when we are somewhere more private. Surely there is something else we could discuss."

I exhaled loudly when I realized I had been holding my breath, waiting for her answer. I had to admit that I was a little disappointed, though I completely understood her reasoning.

I took another bite from my apple as I tried to think of something else to ask her. I thought that maybe I should put off this conversation till later, as we only had 15 minutes left until biology. Instead I decided to reassure her of my resolve.

"It doesn't matter to me… you know… what you are. I don't care." I stammered, trying to get the words out before she could interrupt me.

"It doesn't matter if I'm a monster?" she asked with a look of incredulity that was so sweet I had to chuckle a little.

She snorted when she heard me chuckle, and I immediately regretted the action. I looked at her seriously. "I have a theory, and I will tell you about it after school, but I just wanted you to know that…I'm not afraid of you. You saved my life and I trust you." I downed the rest of my lemonade then and finished off my apple. Bella watched me chew with interest, her eyes narrowing at my throat every time I swallowed, probably watching my Adam's apple bob up and down.

When I was finished I stood and grabbed my bag. Bella followed suit and we exited the cafeteria together, walking towards the biology classroom.


	6. Chapter 6

Jasper POV

"Thank you so much, Jasper. I really appreciate this." Bella said quietly as she left my study, not bothering to close the door behind her.

I turned to my laptop and quickly sent an email to J. I was pretty sure he would be able to get back to me very soon; the Cullen's being top priority customers and all.

I wouldn't tell Bella to her face, but I was very doubtful that I would be able to find much about Charlie Swan's ancestry. It's not easy going past the 16th century, and for Bella I would have to dig much deeper, go further back than I have ever been able to go.

I considered contacting Santiago in Italy. He knew Bella from her time in the Volturi, and he may be able to dig up some things about Bella's past. It would be great if I could find anything at all about her human life. It would be the best Christmas present I could ever give her.

I quickly wrote out a letter to him and put it in my satchel.

I needed to be careful in my correspondence with Santiago. He was still a member of the Volturi guard, and was therefore under the constant supervision of Aro. I needed to be EXTREMELY careful in what information I shared with him, and what I held back.

It would be very bad if Aro decided to send someone to check on Carlisle and Bella after all this time, especially given Bella's precarious relationship with Edward.

I did feel pity for her, but I still felt that she should be more cautious. She had only known him for a short time and yet her feelings for him were already very strong. I bet she wouldn't admit it aloud any time soon, but that girl was in love.

"Hey Jazz," my wife greeted me from the door. She came and sat in my lap and began playfully twirling her fingers in my hair, "I'll let Emmett know that we need to stop by the post office on the way to school."

"Noted." Emmett called from downstairs.

"Thanks. So are you going to tell me what they are going to find out? It would save me the trouble of waiting for them." I asked her hopefully.

"No cheating this time, sweets." She smiled coyly at me and pointed her right index finger into my face. I sighed dramatically. "Besides, you won't have to wait very long." She added.

I glanced at my watch and saw that it was 6:30. Perfect. "Would you like to come on a quick hunt with me?"

"Sure." her eyes clouded for just a moment. I reached around her and began the process of shutting down my laptop when she squealed "If we head 3 miles east we will find a huge herd of elk!" Then she jumped off of my lap while grabbing my hand. I didn't struggle as she pulled me from the room and down the stairs. Carlisle was waiting for us in the Kitchen.

"May I join you?" He asked, while he closed the book he had been reading and placed it gently on the pristine countertop. It was a book that I recognized from my own library. I hadn't realized he had taken it.

"Sure," I replied, "and yes it's ok that you borrowed that," I added, gesturing towards the book. It was my copy of _The Iliad_ in the original Greek, one of my favorites.

Carlisle stood and gestured towards the back door. "After you," he said, a smile playing on his lips. Alice bounced past him and out the door; Carlisle and I followed her at a slower pace, both of us chuckling at her exuberance.

Bella POV

Edward knew I was a vampire. I confirmed his assumption as I drove him home. He took the news surprisingly well. We spent an entire hour sitting in my truck talking about our reading and music and movie preferences. I was surprised to learn that he shared a lot of my tastes in these areas. It was nice to know that we at least had some things in common, and that it wasn't just our mutual attraction for each other that drew us together.

The rest of the week flew by and it was finally the last day of classes for this year. I had made plans with Edward to pick him up on Saturday morning so we could go to the library in Port Angeles. I also planned on taking him to my meadow at some point, to show him what I looked like in the sunlight. He was very excited when I told him. I also told him that he could interrogate me during the trip, and so he had kept the majority of his questions to himself for the past few days. His patience was admirable.

I was sitting with my family at lunch today, instead of with Edward. We both agreed that we should take things a bit slower. Of course, he still didn't know that I made up for it by visiting him while he slept. I thought that that little piece of information could wait.

"I heard back from J." Jasper said, breaking through my musings about this weekend.

"And what did he say?" I asked in a low voice.

"He said he couldn't get much of anything. The Forks Police Departments has multiple firewalls and fail safes set up on their databases," Jasper said. "He said it is more secure than the Pentagon, which implies that there is information there that is worth finding," he added in a hushed tone.

"Did Santiago have any information for you?" Rosalie asked. She was intrigued by the possibility about having information on my human life. We all were.

"Santiago told me to take a hike," Jasper replied with a sour look on his face. I thought about that for a moment. Santiago was always the nicest to me out of all the Volturi guard. When Jasper told me he had contacted Santiago, I felt for sure that he would have some information to share.

Everyone was silent for a few moments, thinking about these new developments that Jasper had shared.

"So how come you're not sitting with your lover boy today?" Emmett teased, while wagging his eyebrows dramatically. Rosalie quickly smacked him in the back of the head, while muttering "idiot."

"We decided that we should take it slow, since we barely know each other," I explained.

"You mean since he barely knows you," Emmett corrected me.

"Since he barely knows me," I conceded. I stole a quick glance at Edward at that moment, and was rewarded when his beautiful green eyes met mine. We exchanged smiles before he quickly returned his attention back to Angela, who was talking about an assignment they had been assigned in English. I was happy that he had befriended Angela, Ben and Tyler. I would have warned him about Mike, but Alice and Jasper already told me that the friendship Edward had with Mike was purely superficial, and that it would amount to nothing.

"So you and Edward are going to Port Angeles on Saturday?" Rosalie asked conversationally, surprising all of us.

"Yes. We have that project due at the end of the break, and the library here is terrible," I answered.

"But you already have a PhD in Biology, Bells," Emmett exclaimed. "What do you need to go to a Library for?"

"Edward does not know that yet. Besides, my PhD in bio is from 1972. I think they might have had a few scientific advances since then," I said with a wink. Regardless, I knew that I could complete our project in less than ten minutes, but I thought it would be unfair to Edward, to not get the full benefit of his Forks High education. I continued to destroy my slice of pizza while my siblings continued discussing my plans with Edward.

I was really surprised by Rosalie's genuine effort to accept my "relationship" with Edward. Out of all the vampires I had met over the past 600 years, she was the one that suffered the most with our inability to reproduce. She deeply regretted not being given the chance to have children and grandchildren, on top of the horrific manner of her change. Carlisle had found her lying in a ditch, badly beaten and on the brink of death. He quickly brought her back to our apartment and turned her. After it was over she explained to Carlisle, Esme, and I that she had been raped and beaten by her fiancé and his buddies, and left for dead on the street. Shortly after her explanation she set out to kill her former fiancé and his friends. She even did it without drinking from them, which is incredible given that she was barely an hour old.

I was actually startled when the bell rang. The seven of us gathered our things and headed for our next classes. I grabbed Rosalie by the arm and pulled her into a nearby bathroom before she could head to her Calculus class.

"Thank you," I said quickly, before she could protest. She looked like she was about to argue with me, but her features softened, and she gave my shoulder a piercing squeeze with her sharp, blood-red finger nails.

"Bella, I know this is hard for you to understand, especially coming from me, but I understand what you are going through. I think the emptiness I feel about… well… the fact that I can't have children pales in comparison to the loneliness you have felt over the past few centuries. At least I have Emmett." Then she patted the top of my head lightly and mouthed "love you" before she stalked out of the bathroom.

I was in shock. Rosalie had never said anything like that to me in all the decades that I had known her.  
For a moment I felt vindicated, justified even, in what I planned to do with Edward. Rosalie's blessing made me feel so much better that I couldn't help but grin at the thought of the fun times that lay ahead, and the thought of Edward as my companion for the rest of eternity put a slight skip in my step.

Then I remembered that Alice was hiding something from all of us, and that it made her sad, and my grin immediately turned into a frown, my skip turning into a trudge. It was time to interrogate Alice about those visions.

Alice POV

I was waiting patiently for the time when Bella would ask about my visions. I had seen our conversation, and I knew that that was when the cat would be out of the bag, so to speak. When the vision became clear as day I knew it was coming within the next 48 hours. I was hoping I would have more time to pin down the timeframe of my visions of our confrontation with the Volturi, and the cause of it. I could only hope that Bella would not freak out and head straight to Volterra to attempt to "handle" them herself.

If she chose to do that, everything would end.

I grasped Jasper's hand tightly as we walked out of the school building towards Emmett's jeep. He was already waiting in the driver's seat, admiring Rosalie as she admired herself in the side view mirror.

As Jasper and I walked our slow human pace I turned around and watched Bella and Edward exit the building and head towards her truck. I blew a kiss to her and she returned my loving gesture with a murderous glare and her middle finger.

Maybe it would be less than 48 hours until our conversation. I looked into the future as I settled myself in the backseat with Jasper. I looked down at myself and realized that I was currently wearing the same thing as in my vision. It did not take long for my panic to set in.

I hadn't been taken by surprise like this by one of my visions for decades, and it frightened me a little to admit this to myself.


End file.
